Matt.15:1-9-The Pharisees and scribes had expanded on the law that God had given and added their own interpretations and practices. These were not a part of God’s law…but they enforced them as if they were. These practices included washing of their hands are prescribed times, etc. This is what they refer to here as the “tradition of theelders”. Jesus tells them that they are the ones who transgress the law…not just their law, but God’slaw. He gives an example. God’s law commands that children honor their parents. However, they had prescribed a law of their own that allowed them to get around God’s law. According to God’s law, they were to take care of their parents in times of financial need (perhaps when they are elderly). But, their law allowed them to not be bound to do this if they had dedicated their money to God. This sounds like a very righteous thing to do. But in reality, the money that they had dedicated to God was still available to them be used for their own purposes since they saw themselves as being in service to God. Jesus calls them “hypocrites” and says that they say that they honor God, but in their hearts they are not doing so…they are only doing it for themselves. They elevate their own teachings above God’s.

Matt.15:10-11-Jesus tells a one-line parable (:11) and then explains it (:15-20). The Pharisees believed that what made a man righteous was the external obedience to their laws (“what enters into the mouth”)…what they eat, washing of the hands before eating, etc. Jesus says that this is not what makes a man righteous…instead, it is the content and intent of his heart (“what proceeds out of the mouth”). For a man to be righteous there must be more than just mere external conformity…there must be an internal transformation. The former is the work of man, the latter is the work of God. The Pharisees had it exactly backwards…from the outside, in, instead of from the inside, out. To the Pharisee, he could cause the inner transformation to take place, himself…by being obedient to the law. In order to assure this, they went to the extreme, adding additional laws (the traditions of the elders) to ensure that they went beyond what was expected in order to fulfill God’s law. On the other hand, God’s law was not ever intended to make a man righteous through his own obedience; but, to serve as a guide to reveal his failure, that he was a sinner and was not righteous. The only way that a man could ever be righteous is through the work of God in his heart…that would then be evidenced by obedience in his life.

To the average person, it was a love-hate relationship with the Pharisees. Because the Pharisees were the ruling religious group among the Jews, because the average Jew had been taught his entire life that the Pharisees epitomized what it meant to be a righteous Jew, and because the Pharisees had the power to punish the average Jew for not holding to their teachings…the Jew on the street held to a kind of respect that bordered on fear. And yet, because they didn’t know any different…this same respect had an element of admiration, because they thought that the Pharisees were truly living as God commanded in His law. When Jesus called the Pharisees “hypocrites” His disciples were concerned that they had been “offended”. Perhaps the disciples were a little bit offended…because to them, the Pharisees were the religious leaders. Jesus quickly corrects them and tells them that God did not put them into their position as the religious leaders of the Jews (:12). He tells the disciples to not follow them (:14)…that they are like blind men telling other blind men where to walk.

Prayer: Lord, you know me better than I know myself. Please help me to surrender my will, my desires, my plans, my ego, my emotions…all that I am, to You. So that You will have complete freedom to guide and direct my life. Make me into the man You desire and use me for Your glory…no matter what the cost.

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Published by Dr. Jim Pennington

Senior Pastor at Temple Church in New Bern, North Carolina
Dr. Jim Pennington grew up in central Florida where he enjoyed sunshine, the surf and fresh squeezed orange juice. He attended the University of Florida where he accepted Jesus Christ and married Patty. He went on to graduate at Palm Beach Atlantic College, then received a Master of Divinity and a Doctor of Ministry from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and a Doctor of Ministry from Luther Rice Seminary. He has been serving in the ministry for over 40 years, most of that as a Senior Pastor. He and Patty have traveled the world together on vacations and mission trips from the Bahamas to Guatemala to South Africa to Tanzania to Israel to France to Italy to England and about a dozen more countries. They have flown in hot air balloons, fixed wing gliders, the Bud One Airship, and all kinds of airplanes. He says, "I would rather spend time with her than anyone else in the world." They have a daughter, Courtney, who lives with her husband and three boys in the Tampa, Florida area and a son, Jeremy, who lives with his wife, two boys and a daughter in Palmer, Alaska. He has a passion for hiking, hunting, fishing, scuba diving, skiing, zip lining, snow machining and pretty much anything outdoors. Dr. Jim Pennington says, "The reason that I love nature so much is because everywhere I look, I see God's fingerprints."
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